Sunset Selfie Series Shows How One Man Gets Creative With Cardboard Cutouts

When the grizzly bear said he had a frog in his throat, I didn’t know I’d need to reach in and rescue it.

As creative minded people, you might find it stressful when you have to spend too much time in front of a computer screen working. That’s the situation John Marshall found himself in, and to quench his thirst for something hands on and artistic, he started cutting out giant sized cardboard animals to pose with in a really fun selfie series, Sunset Selfies.

“As a writer, I spend too much time sitting down, so I love to step away from all that, get on the floor, draw something, cut it out, and go enjoy the beautiful sunset outside. It’s a very organic process, like being a kid again,” Marshall explained.

In his working life, Marshall is writer. He penned a book, Wide-Open World, after he spent a year with his wife and two children travelling and volunteering all around the world. He wrote had this about his project:

Thanks so much for your interest in my SUNSET SELFIES series. The project started while I was spending some time alone on Frye Island in Maine with nothing but some cardboard, a pair of scissors and some beautiful sunsets to play with.

Now while I’m on the island, I shoot one of these a day, drawing a picture, cutting it out, posing with it and posting it on line. The cutouts are very rough when seen in the light, but in silhouette, against the setting sun, they almost come to life, creating magical images.

Paired with short stories, my Sunset Selfies are like single-panel cartoons. I think of them like Gary Larson’s “The Far Side,” one of my personal favorites.

When he’s not making Sunset Selfies, Marshall caTo see more, be sure to check out the Sunset Selfie Facebook page!

For anyone who has ever wondered if their horse would make a good kayak partner…I wouldn’t count on it. Mine didn’t pick up his paddle once.

When I finally got up the nerve to approach the beautiful mermaid down on the beach, a friend suggested I bring her a bouquet of roses. But I had a better idea.

I can’t think of a better way to wind down at the end of the day then with a little Rhino Ring Toss. For anyone interested: All you need is a rhinoceros and a ring and you’re good to go. | JOHN MARSHALL.

Enough with the begging. This is why you do not feed pets at the table. | JOHN MARSHALL.

The problem with Troll Haircut Day is the brutal monotony of it all.
“Tapered to a point?” I asked for the 74th time.

(No Text: just the reverse angle on a cut out to show how lousy they look in the light)

When Mars House of Pizza says “WE DELIVER ANYWHERE,” they mean it.

While I was watching the sunset tonight, I couldn’t stop blinking. “Hey. Do I have something in my eye?” I asked Keith, my chameleon friend.
“Yeah,” Keith said. “It’s a bug.”
“Can you get it out?” I asked.

“In the yoga world, we call this the Standing Tree Pose,” I said.
“Oh. In the flamingo world, we call this standing,” the flamingo replied.

I was about to tell the waiter about the big fly in my soup when my date cleared her throat. “Are you gonna eat that?” she asked.

Today, I was enjoying a sunset banana down by the lake when the most amazing thing happened. All of a sudden, this warm breeze started blowing across my neck and it smelled just like bananas too.

[ Sunset Selfies via Whudat ]